7th grade students from St. Mark's, Kansas, learned about CFL's technology and the effects on our enviroment. In researching CFL's students were able to learn how a new piece of technology invented to save energy can affect our environment.

Our first course of study was to learn about CFL's. Students didn't have an real understanding about what a CFL was or what it could do. Students created a power point to define a CFL and list 10 facts about it. This presetnation was given to the class. Afterwards, the class broke into groups to discuss the several different facts created from our power points.

Our second course of study was to learn about the effects of CFL's. Students was a video on the effect of mercury in the environment. We read a research paper over disposal of CFL's in a proper manner. Students also watched a recorded webinar from Ball State University about proper disposal. Afterwards, students commmented on a blog post about mercury and disposal of CFL's.

Third, students created a short paper over the life cycles of a CFL.

Now, time for our experiment. Several groups choose to experiment with CFL's with color and wattage. Using a infared laser, a kilowatt meter, and CFL's students measured and tested. In one example students measured a CFL left on all the time vs. one that come on every twenty minutes. In their data they found that once the CFL came on after a minute the temperature stayed the same. The life of the bulbs couldn't be determined as time ran out. Another group test the colored CFL to a regular CFL. The temperature of the colored CFL was slightly higher than the normal CFL, but according to another group's experiment both were considerably lower than an incandescent light in heat and wattage. All data was recorded using Microsoft Excel. Students created charts to display the differences in their experiment.

Students were required to complete the experiment with a digital recording of their work using a Flip Mino camera and Windows Movie Maker.

Our final discussion was about whether or not CFL's were worth it? In the end, students agreed that using CFL's would be better because of energy and cost savings. However, all agreed that people purchasing CFL's should always recycle as in anything anyone uses should be recycled to save our planet.

Students created power point presentations to learn about what CFL's. Amazingly, students just knew that CFL's were funny looking light bulbs. After their research, they understood that CFL's are more than just funny light bulbs.

After researching disposal of CFL's students were required to post a blog comment on their findings.

Blog Posts:

·

Black Eagle: I learned a lot about CFL's when I read this. I learned how to clean up after a CFL has been broken and I also learned that they have become very popular over the past years.reply

• Tuanua Swartz: You must remember that I grade grammar as well. Please proofread before you post!reply

· Strawberry Wildcat: I believe that if everyone had at least one CFL it could save so much energy in the world. I didn't realize that it could last for 2-5 years. But, you have to be very careful when it comes to handling a CFL because you don't want to break it >>> and spread the mercury throughout your home. I wouldn't think that it would’ve cost much back then and now it is only like a couple of dollars!!! <<< reply

· Black Cat: I learned a lot about recycling CFLs.reply

• Tuanua Swartz: You may want to express what you learned a little next time to display you read the article.reply

· Strawberry Kitten: I learned a lot about CFL's and recycling it was very informational and very interesting I learned ho\w it can help the environment...!!!reply

• Tuanua Swartz: You need to remember that I grade on grammar as well as your post. Please proofread next time.reply

· Violet Wildcat: I think that the article had lots of good information. It told you how much they were back then to today! They told you how to recycle it in regular recycling and what to do if it breaks. It told you how much mercury was in a CFL. It even tells >>> you how to dispose it! It also has a little section on what to do if you break a CFL. I learned more from that article than the internet. <<< reply

• Tuanua Swartz: I am glad this article helped you with more details about CFL's. Do remember to check grammar before posting.reply

· Black Bat: This was an interesting site I learned a lot but I want to know what will happen to you if you inhale too much mercuryreply

• Tuanua Swartz: Good question! Perhaps you should research the answer and post your findings.reply

· Midnight Wildcat: I found out a lot more about CFL's than I knewreply

• Tuanua Swartz: Please express some of your new findings to display you actually read the article.reply

· Aquamarine Ape: You shouldn't dispose your CFL light bulbs in the trash can because if everyone did that all the mercury would get together and could hurt us. So I think that article helps us realize that it can hurt us.reply

• Tuanua Swartz: Nicely stated information, please remember to proofread for grammatical errors!reply

· Red Tiger: More people should read the article and switch to CFL’s.reply

• Tuanua Swartz: Why should they switch to CFL's according to this article?reply

· Green Frog: CLF are very good for this world they last up to 5 years. Did u know that the mercury in them is the size of a bold point pen?reply

• Tuanua Swartz: Interesting fact about mercury! Please remember that proper grammar doesn't include texting language!reply

· Pacific Dolphin: I learned a lot from reading that page. I wish I would have read it before I took the test because now I know that I didn't do too well. I learned that CFL's can last 2-5 years.reply

• Tuanua Swartz: Don't worry about the test. It was a pre-test so that your post-test will show your learning growth!reply

· Pink Fox I think it is important to know how to take care of something like that if it happens. It was a good article and it explained a lot.reply

• Tuanua Swartz: Make sure to double check your grammar before posting.reply

· Chestnut Cheetah: I learned a lot about CFL. I learned how to clean it if it breaks.reply

• Tuanua Swartz: Cleaning CFL's is more difficult than one would think. Remember to check your grammar before posting!reply

· Midnight Wildcat: I didn't know CFL's disposed like thatreply

• Tuanua Swartz: Grammar!reply

· Midnight Wildcat: The sorses are burning fossil fuels and waste incrination.reply

• Tuanua Swartz: Not quite sure about your meaning with this fact.reply

· Midnight Wildcat: I didn't how much CFL’s save energyreply

· Aquamarine Ape: In the video the guy said that mercury would not mess with the DNA at all. The other thing that might happen id you might have kidney damage.reply

• Tuanua Swartz: I need three facts from the webinar.reply

· Black Bat: Three things about CFL's are that they use 75% less power than incandescent, only 25% of CFL’s are recycled, and the most of the mercury pollution
comes from utility coal burners.reply

• Tuanua Swartz: The facts were to be about what the special guest said about mercury.reply

· Violet Wildcat: I learned a lot about mercury in this video. Mercury is persistent and it can be broken down. In the atmosphere, 2,400 tons of mercury fills the air per year and still increasing. The #1 source of mercury is burning fossil fuels.reply

· Strawberry Kitten: I learned a lot! I learned that smelting it to melt mettle, coal burning power plants it the number one source of mercury emission. Atmosphere Deposition is the dominate source of mercury to most of the biospherereply

· Aquamarine Ape: This goes with the other piece I have just written. The people who have a higher risk of getting sick are small children and women bearing children. The different types of Mercury are elemental mercury and Inorganic mercury. U. S. EPA issues >>> regulation that require industry to reduce mercury releases to air and water and to properly treat and dispose of mercury wastes. <<< reply

· Pink Fox The facts I have learned when mercury is emitted onto the atmosphere, it may deposit close to the source, or be transported long distances, also that
more than half of global anthropogenic emission of mercury starts in Asia, and last
atmospheric mercury from emissions ends up in water bodies which is put back into the food chain.reply

· Green Frog: Mercury is in bulb CFL 4.0. Mercury can be recycled.
They are going to reduce mercury releases. The FDA dose not approves mercury in tuna. If mercury is in an animal than their organs will slowly shut down.reply

· Red Tiger: Mercury can rain down and go in a lake and poison the fish and people can eat the fish and get really sick. A very small amount of mercury can be toxic. 56% of mercury comes from Asia and comes to the United States.reply

· Blue Eagle: I learned that CFL's contain about 3-5 milligrams of mercury.reply

· Royal Eagle: I learned that CFL's contain mercury and mercury is very harmful to the environment. It contaminates the air and water.reply

· Midnight Eagle: I've learned a lot over CFL's my three facts are

1. Keep CFL's out of regular recycling.
2. Don't bin your CFL's.
3. Don’t use a vacuum when cleaning Mercury up, it spreads it in the air.reply

· Pink Puppy CFL Paragraph From reading the paragraph about CFL's I learned a lot, like how to dispose them, and what to do if they break. It also tells you not to recycle them or throw them away in a trash can.reply

· Gold Fish: I thought this article was very good. I learned that the cost of CFL's in the 1990's were much higher than the cost now. I also never knew that CFL's had to be cleaned up with caution!reply

· Green Fox: When the CFL is used up the mercury in it is in the most toxic state. The article taught me how to clean up after you break one too. It was really informative.reply

· Midnight Eagle: I made a mistake my last post I wasn't supposed to post 3 facts I was supposed to post a little summary of what I learned-I learned how to clean up a proper way when one breaks.reply

· Royal Eagle: I learned that mercury cannot be broken down into any simpler substance in the webinar. Mercury is emitted into the atmosphere by volcanoes. Mercury may also be mined from the Earth.reply

· Tumbleweed Toad: This article was very informing information. I learned a lot about it. Like how to clean it up if it ever broke. Also that when you put a lamp in the regular recycling it could shatter and could harm the recycling center staff. I did not know >>> Mercury was that harmful for the environment. <<< reply

· Black Hawk: I did not know that CFL's last 2-5 years and I did not know that there is 3-5 milligrams.reply

· Jungle Alligator: Throwing CFL's in the bin isn't a good idea. Aside from the waste of materials, there is one rather unsettling issue with compact fluorescent lamps - they contain a small amount of mercury; approximately 3-5 milligrams. It's a tiny amount, >>> about the size of the very tip a ballpoint pen and. Still, a hundred million of these small amounts do become a significant issue.
this is what can happen when you throw away CFL’s it will grow over time to become a big deal <<< reply

· Turquoise Tiger: Until I read this article on CFL's I had no idea of how to properly dispose of a CFL. I also learned about the different ways to recycle CFL's. One of the many other things I learned is how to clean up a CFL if it happens to break.reply

· Brick Bat: After I read about CFL's I learned that you are not to throw them in the trash. I also learned that CFL's are very popular in our world right now. You should ask the company if the bulb is recyclable.reply

· Copper Dolphin: I learned that they each contain a drop of mercury the size of a ball point pen. I didn't realize that they used to be over 20 dollars each! I'm now glad that I haven't come within close proximity of one.
>>>
How much mercury does a watch contain? <<< reply

· Cornflower Coyote: When I was reading about CFL's, I was surprised that they could get up to 2-5 years! I didn't know that they had mercury in them, you have to be really careful when they break! I learned a lot!reply

· Blue Eagle: One thing I learned from the webinar is that mercury is a natural accruing element. Coal burning power plants are the number one source of mercury is another fact I didn’t know. Methyl mercury is the only form of mercury that accumulates appreciably in fish.reply

· Gold Fish: What I learned from the Webinar was that mercury cannot be broken down into anything smaller. Mercury can also travel more than a thousand miles. It doesn't take very much mercury for it to be toxic.reply

· Brick Bat: I learned watching the movie that Interventions can be successful and that that it gives an impact on global fishing. If the mercury is in the air it will traveled globally threw the air. The fishing is an impact, because a little fish will swallow >>> some mercury and get in the tissue of that fish and then a bigger fish eats the little fish and we then eat the bigger fish and now we have mercury in us. <<< reply

· Copper Dolphin: From watching this movie I learned that over half of the world's mercury is produced by Asia. I learned that mercury is poisoning the fish that we eat. I also never realized that there are different types of mercury.reply

· Jungle Alligator: on the mercury fact
it can affect the brain
it affects fishing mostly which then the fish will eat other fish then we eat that fish and we get the mercury 56% comes from Asiareply

· Green Fox: Webinar
I learned that mercury can affect globule fishing.
Also 5-36% of mercury disposition cams to America from Asia.
>>> Finally I leered 2400 tons of mercury was put into the air yearly. <<< reply

· Turquoise Tiger: There are many ways that mercury gets released into the air. Some of the most common ways that mercury gets into the air is burning fossil fuels and waste incineration. Mercury can also cause many different health problems such as difficulty >>> breathing and neurological problems. A small amount of mercury can cause a big problem and mercury can travel fast through the air. <<< reply

· Tumbleweed Toad: Some things from the Webinar that I learned is Mercury cannot be broken down into anything smaller. Also it as a natural occurring element. Another fact it there is about 2400 tons per year are being emitted.reply

· Pink Puppy I have learned from the video that batteries, and thermo enters have mercury in them. Also that a lot of mercury comes from Asia. One more fact is that mercury is not good for people’s health.reply

· Cornflower Coyote: He talks a lot about mercury and how it is toxic and how much there is mercury in countries. It causes many health problems if you breathed it. It can be transformed into water.reply

· Strawberry Cheetah: After I read this I learned so much. I also learned that they become very popular over the past years.

Using Inspiration 8, students created a KWL chart.

After researching CFL's and understanding all the phases. Students wrote a short summary on the life cycle.

Life Cycles of a CFL

o Production- The lamp tube of the CFL twirls in many directions, but there are also complex materials underneath: The coating inside of the tube is the phosphor, floating around the tubes are 5mg of mercury vapor.

o There is also a 24 component microchip in every single light bulb.

o Sold In Stores – Many stores sell CFL’s in a variety of watts, sizes, and colors.

o Life Time- During the life of a CFL, it will use 4 times less energy than a 6-10 standard incandescent bulbs use in that same period.

o That means that incandescent lamps, that have no mercury contained within, will cause hundreds of milligrams more power than mercury emissions.

o The extra power used will also produce about 200 pounds of greenhouse gases.

o End of life- The best way to dispose your CFL is in your local waste facility.

o The mercury can be recycled or disposed properly by going to specific recycling places for CFL’s. If one did not dispose of a CFL correctly, then mercury contamination would occur.

o This would be the downfall of the CFL. The environment would suffer if CFL’s aren’t recycled because of mercury, which is poisonous.